Tortola 2010

Tortola, what can I say about it other than it is an amazing place. This would be a place I could easily call home. In fact we were tempted to have the kids shipped down there. I have always had a love for the ocean and I'm glad that I can share my love of the ocean with Mike. I hope that one day this could be home. For now, I love that we were able to spend the time with those we are very close to.

We had a great time swimming in the blue water and hanging out on the white sand beach. We were also lucky enough to go sailing and scuba diving two days. We dove a spot called the Indians and the RMS Rhone, which is a British Naval ship that sunk around 150 years ago. The diving was amazing. I must say that I am very impressed with my brothers abilities as a Captain. Nice work Mike!

We also had a great time at the house. I don't think we can ever thank Keri and Richard enough! Their house is beautiful and the view could not be better.

Tortola residents are very nice and I would say I understood about half of what they said. OK... maybe that's a little optimistic. The driving was a little insane, but it added to the adventure. They drive on the left and make one lane roads a two lane roadway. Their roads also go straight up or down and are a series of hairpin turns.

Here are a few (of the many) pictures we took. We are going to get together and combine our pics into one slideshow. I will post that when it's complete.

Big Girl Bed and Birthday Celebration

On Saturday we converted Allison's bed to the toddler bed. She is so proud to be in a big girl bed and has done really well in it. She doesn't even get out of bed in the morning. We still here "Mommy" and "Daddy" very early in the morning.





On Sunday we had a get together at our house to celebrate Alli's Birthday. The kids played in the water and had a great time. Alli was hilarious when she opened her presents. With each present she had to walk around and show everybody what she got, even the cards. Needless to say it took awhile to get through her presents, but she loved every minute of it.

When it was time for cake Allison just could not wait. She stuck her hands in the middle and pulled off some frosting before we even got the candles lit. What a crazy kid.

My sweet baby turned two!

I can't believe that Allison is already two years old. Time has flown by! Alli is such a sweet little girl. She loves to cuddle and is also a tease. She follows Paige everywhere and wants to do whatever she is doing. Here are a few things about Alli now......

-She now will tell you her name, but it comes out more like owie
-She will tell you that she is two years old
-She loves the animals at Wheeler Farm, but says eewww about all of them
-Her favorite movies right now are Cheaper by the Dozen, The Incredibles, and Lilo and Stitch
-She still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
-She loves playing with her dolls and taking care of them
-She says no, no, Abby to the dog all the time
-She loves her best buddy Katie
-She is a daddy's girl all the way!
-She loves to dance and sings in the car

On Sunday we are having a BBQ at our house to celebrate her birthday and I will post some pics of that. Yesterday we went swimming. She loves the water! (or wa wa as she calls it)






Here are a few older pics...

Her newborn pic



Her one year pic



And some recent photos

Vegas!

Mike was so sweet when he surprised me with a trip to Vegas for our Anniversary. Apparently I am totally clueless! He had all the details worked out, even my time off work. It was so nice to just spend the time with him, but we missed the kids a ton. We relaxed by the pool and saw the Zumanity show at New York, New York. We also went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. They offer a scuba experience similar to what we did in Orlando, but they charge an outrageous amount. If we both went on the dive it would be a bargain price of $1000.00. Are you kidding me! A thousand dollars for a 45 minute dive! Anyways, we had fun just looking at the fish through the other side of the glass. Even the flight was relaxing, I hadn't flown without the kids for a long time.

I don't know how I can ever compete with his gifts! I guess I need to get more creative!

Love you honey!

Paige's Birthday

So I'm finally getting around to adding a post about Paige's Birthday. She had a great weekend of celebration and as always, was spoiled. We broke down and got her a trampoline, which she loves. I'm really glad we got it because it's great exercise, as I have found out the hard way, and it keeps both her and Alli busy.

Paige had a great friend birthday party at Neptune Divers where the kids tried out scuba. There were a few of the kids that were a little apprehensive, but they ended up loving it. Then we had a family BBQ. I'm so glad the weather was good.

Hopefully I will have some Vegas pictures posted soon. It was so nice and relaxing! It was funny though, the whole time we were saying how much we missed the kids. Thank you honey for the nice present. We needed that time together!

DC Pics.... Finally

So once again I am really behind in my posts. I finally finished the slideshow for DC. I let the kids pick the music for it this time. Paige picked the first and the last song. Alli picked the middle. We had a great time in DC. The wedding was beautiful and it was nice to get a glimpse into Shaun and RJ's lives. They are such a cute couple together and we wish them many years of happiness.

I will try to get caught up on the rest of the month, but I may be a little slow at it. Mike surprised me with a trip to Vegas for our Anniversary. We leave Friday. He is so sneaky!! I think everyone knew but me. He even called my Supervisor and arranged the day off for me. We also had a nice sushi dinner to celebrate. I love you honey!! Thank you!!

Where Did the Last Nine Years Go?

So today is Paige's ninth birthday. It is really hard to believe that she is growing up so fast. The fact that she will be in 4th grade next year is a little scary for me. It made me sad to think that I only have a few years left until Jr. High. For now I'll try to forget about that......

Paige brings a ton of energy to the house. Sometimes it is almost too much, but I wouldn't change it for the world. She is a great big sister and is always looking out for Alli. Alli wants to be just like her big sister. Paige loves old movies like Grease and Footloose. She is a girl who knows what she wants and will go out and get it. She loves ice skating and practices all the time.

We had a great weekend celebrating her Birthday and I will post some pictures soon. I'm slacking again and haven't even posted our DC pictures yet.

We love you Paige!